The present invention relates to suction catheters, and more particularly to a suction catheter having an antimicrobial chamber.
A variety of different circumstances exist in which a person may be required to have a catheter inserted into their body for a medical procedure. One such use for a catheter exists when a person needs to have an artificial airway, such as an endotracheal tube, placed in his or her respiratory system. During surgery, for instance, the artificial airway""s primary function is to keep the patient""s airway open so that adequate lung ventilation can be maintained during the surgical procedure. Alternatively, with many patients, the endotracheal tube will remain in place to sustain mechanical ventilation for a prolonged period.
If an endotracheal tube is to be left in place for any substantial amount of time, it is critical that respiratory secretions be periodically removed. This is usually accomplished with the use of a respiratory suction catheter. As the suction catheter is withdrawn, a negative pressure is applied to the interior of the catheter to draw mucus and other secretions from the respiratory system.
While a substantial amount of mucus will be withdrawn through the catheter lumen, a portion of the mucus will remain on the outside of the catheter for a variety of reasons, it is important that any mucus and secretions be cleaned off the catheter tube, for example to prevent contamination from infectious agents that may be present in the respiratory secretions.
Several mechanisms exist by which a catheter may be cleaned. For example, a lavage port may be included which enables the clinician to inject liquid into the area surrounding the tip of the catheter after it has been withdrawn from the patient. When liquid is injected into a closed suction catheter apparatus and suction is applied, the liquid helps to loosen and remove the secretions from the exterior of the catheter.
One significant problem with simply injecting liquid and applying suction to remove it, is that the suction also causes a volume of respiratory air to be removed through the catheter. In a xe2x80x9cclosed systemxe2x80x9d, the air that is evacuated potentially disrupts the carefully controlled ventilatory cycle. Therefore, the amount of respiratory air available to the patient is decreased as a result of catheter cleaning.
One way to control potential contamination from respiratory secretions is to introduce antimicrobial agents to inhibit the proliferation of bacteria in the respiratory apparatus, and especially on the catheter itself. The problem with surface bonding of the agent onto the catheter is that it is limited to short term delivery of the pharmacologically active ingredient.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a closed suction respiratory system that is capable of effectively cleaning the tip of a suction catheter without a resultant drop in ventilation air to the patient. Additionally, a need in the art exists in applying an antimicrobial compound into the closed suction respiratory system quickly, effectively, and for a sustained amount of time.
Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned from practice of the invention.
The present invention provides for a cartridge that can be used with not only a respiratory system, but with other medical apparatuses. Examples of such would include lavage systems and instrumentation to monitor and view the respiratory or digestive tract.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cproximalxe2x80x9d refers to a direction toward the clinician, and the term xe2x80x9cdistalxe2x80x9d refers to a direction towards the patient.
According to the invention, the cartridge for use on a medical apparatus includes a body which has a proximal end and a distal end. The body also has a passageway that leads from the proximal to the distal end. This passageway accommodates the insertion and retraction of a surgical instrument through the cartridge. The passageway and the proximal end define a proximal chamber, while the passageway and the distal end define a distal chamber. A proximal port is located on the body which communicates with the proximal chamber. A distal port is located on the body which communicates with the distal chamber. An antimicrobial agent is disposed in either the proximal or the distal chambers.
In an alternate embodiment, only one port is provided which communicates with the chamber in which the antimicrobial agent is disposed.
Also according to the invention, a respiratory suction apparatus is provided. The apparatus consists of a suction catheter for removing fluids from a respiratory tract of a patient by insertion of a distal end of the suction catheter into the respiratory tract. Fluids are removed by withdrawing the distal end of the suction catheter through a portion of the tract while applying negative pressure to a lumen of the suction catheter. A cartridge as discussed previously is incorporated in-line in the apparatus so that the catheter passes through the cartridge. For example, the cartridge may be connected to a manifold located distally of the cartridge. The manifold is configured for communication with a artificial airway fitting structure attached to a patient.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a single flap valve is located distally of the cartridge. The flap valve substantially isolates the suction catheter from the manifold upon withdrawing the distal portion of the suction catheter from the manifold and past the flap valve.